a) Field of the Invention
This application is a continuation of U.S. Appplication Ser. No. 10/087,527, filed Feb. 28, 2002, which is a continuation of U.S. Application Ser. No. 09/518,488, filed Mar. 3, 2000. This invention relates to an electrophoretic display comprising cells of well-defined shape, size and aspect ratio, which cells are filled with charged pigment particles dispersed in a solvent, and novel processes for its manufacture.
b) Description of Related Art
The electrophoretic display is a non-emissive device based on the electrophoresis phenomenon of charged pigment particles suspended in a solvent. It was first proposed in 1969. The display usually comprises two plates with electrodes placed opposing each other, separated by using spacers. One of the electrodes is usually transparent. A suspension composed of a colored solvent and charged pigment particles is enclosed between the two plates. When a voltage difference is imposed between the two electrodes, the pigment particles migrate to one side and then either the color of the pigment or the color of the solvent can be seen according to the polarity of the voltage difference.
In order to prevent undesired movement of the particles, such as sedimentation, partitions between the two electrodes were proposed for dividing the space into smaller cells. However, in the case of partition-type electrophoretic displays, some difficulties were encountered in the formation of the partitions and the process of enclosing the suspension. Furthermore, it was also difficult to keep different colors of suspensions separate from each other in the partition-type electrophoretic display.
Subsequently, attempts were made to enclose the suspension in microcapsules. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,961,804 and 5,930,026 describe microencapsulated electrophoretic displays. The reference display has a substantially two dimensional arrangement of microcapsules each having therein an electrophoretic composition of a dielectric fluid and a suspension of charged pigment particles that visually contrast with the dielectric solvent. The microcapsules can be formed by interfacial polymerization, in-situ polymerization or other known methods such as physical processes, in-liquid curing or simple/complex coacervation. The microcapsules, after their formation, may be injected into a cell housing two spaced-apart electrodes, or xe2x80x9cprintedxe2x80x9d into or coated on a transparent conductor film. The microcapsules may also be immobilized within a transparent matrix or binder that is itself sandwiched between the two electrodes.
The electrophoretic displays prepared by these prior art processes, in particular, the microencapsulation process as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,930,026, 5,961,804, and 6,017,584, have many shortcomings. For example, the electrophoretic display manufactured by the microencapsulation process suffers from sensitivity to environmental changes (in particular, sensitivity to moisture and temperature) due to the wall chemistry of the microcapsules. Secondly, the electrophoretic display based on the microcapsules has poor scratch resistance due to the thin wall and large particle size of the microcapsules. To improve the handleability of the display, microcapsules are embedded in a large quantity of polymer matrix which results in a slow response time due to the large distance between the two electrodes and a low contrast ratio due to the low payload of pigment particles. It is also difficult to increase the surface charge density on the pigment particles because charge-controlling agents tend to diffuse to the water/oil interface during the microencapsulation process. The low charge density or zeta potential of the pigment particles in the microcapsules also results in a slow response rate. Furthermore, because of the large particle size and broad size distribution of the microcapsules, the prior art electrophoretic display of this type has poor resolution and addressability for color applications.
The first aspect of the present invention is directed to an electrophoretic display comprising cells of well-defined shape, size and aspect ratio. The cells are filled with charged pigment particles dispersed in a dielectric solvent.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a novel process for the manufacture of such an electrophoretic display.
A further aspect of the invention relates to the preparation of cells of well-defined shape, size and aspect ratio. The cells enclose a suspension of charged pigment particles dispersed in a dielectric solvent and are formed from microcups prepared according to the present invention. Briefly, the process for the preparation of the microcups involves embossing a thermoplastic or thermoset precursor layer coated on a conductor film with a pre-patterned male mold, followed by releasing the mold during or after the thermoset precursor layer is hardened by radiation, cooling, solvent evaporation, or other means. Alternatively, the microcups may be formed from imagewise exposure of the conductor film coated with a radiation curable layer followed by removing the unexposed areas after the exposed areas have become hardened.
Solvent-resistant, thermomechanically stable microcups having a wide range of size, shape, and opening ratio can be prepared by either one of the aforesaid methods. The microcups are then filled with a suspension of charged pigment particles in a dielectric solvent, and sealed.
Yet another aspect of the present invention relates to the sealing of the microcups filled with the electrophoretic fluid containing a dispersion of charged pigment particles in a dielectric fluid. Sealing can be accomplished by a variety of ways. Preferably, it is accomplished by dispersing a thermoplastic or thermoset precursor in the electrophoretic fluid before the filling step. The thermoplastic or thermoset precursor is immiscible with the dielectric solvent and has a specific gravity lower than that of the solvent and the pigment particles. After filling, the thermoplastic or thermoset precursor phase separates from the electrophoretic fluid and forms a supernatant layer at the top of the fluid. The sealing of the microcups is then conveniently accomplished by hardening the precursor layer by solvent evaporation, interfacial reaction, moisture, heat, or radiation. UV radiation is the preferred method to seal the microcups, although a combination of two or more curing mechanisms as described above may be used to increase the throughput of sealing. Alternatively, the sealing can be accomplished by overcoating the electrophoretic fluid with a solution containing the thermoplastic or thermoset precursor. The sealing is then accomplished by hardening the precursor by solvent evaporation, interfacial reaction, moisture, heat, radiation, or a combination of curing mechanisms. These sealing processes are especially unique features of the present invention.
Yet another aspect of the present invention relates to a multiple step process for the manufacture of a monochrome electrophoretic display comprising cells having well-defined shape and size. The processing steps include preparation of the microcups by any one of the methods described above, sealing of the microcups, and finally laminating the sealed array of microcups with a second conductor film pre-coated with an adhesive layer. This multiple-step process can be carried out roll to roll continuously.
Yet another aspect of the present invention relates to a process for the manufacture of a full color electrophoretic display by laminating the preformed microcups with a layer of positively working photoresist, selectively opening a certain number of the microcups by imagewise exposing the positive photoresist, followed by developing the resist, filling the opened cups with a colored electrophoretic fluid, and sealing the filled microcups by a sealing process. These steps may be repeated to create sealed microcups filled with electrophoretic fluids of different colors.
These multiple-step processes as disclosed may be carried out roll-to-roll continuously or semi-continuously. Consequently, they are suitable for high volume and low cost production. These processes are also efficient and inexpensive as compared to other processes for high volume production operations. The electrophoretic display prepared according to the present invention is not sensitive to environment, particularly humidity and temperature. The display is thin, flexible, durable, easy-to-handle, and format-flexible. Since the electrophoretic display prepared according to the present invention comprises cells of favorable aspect ratio and well-defined shape and size, the bistable reflective display has excellent color addressability, high contrast ratio, and fast switching rate. The drawbacks of electrophoretic displays prepared by the prior art processes are therefore all eliminated.